Hitsuzen
by Night-Weaver369
Summary: A girl from a strange land has landed in Kimihiro's dimension. Will it be love or will it be a constant hit and miss with these two? KimihiroOC KimihiroxOC KimihiroXOC Kimihiro/OC, WatanukiOC WatanukiXOC WatanukixOC UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
1. The Girl and The Time and Space Witch

All I remember is that I was yanked from my bed and brought to the palace temple. The smell of smoke was thick in the air and screams could be heard from all around, I looked up to see my mother with a face that could only be described as terrified. Once we got to the main room she turned to me. "You must listen to me," she said as she kneeled to my height, "I am going to send you away from here, this world is under attack and I don't know how long it will be around, the high priest will send you to another world," I felt confused, it must have shown upon my face, because my mother then said, "I can't explain it to you myself, but once you get to the other world, the time and space witch will explain things a little better." With that she walked me to the center of an elaborate circle and the high priest began to chant in a low voice, gradually increasing the volume of his voice until it was a powerful bellow. The wind circled around me, the circle started to glow a golden color, I then looked to my hands and saw that they were disappearing, as if I was made of sand and the wind was blowing me away, I looked to my mother. She was crying, I started to cry too, but I knew that she was trying to save me so I could live. With that last glimpse, I was gone, traveling between worlds.

Sooner that I thought, my journey had ended, I was thrown from the time path and into a strange world, but before I could have a real look around, before me was a woman. She was dressed in a black and white dress with a r head piece placed atop her long black hair, but her eyes were a deep red. "Are you the time space witch?" I said with a small voice, I didn't trust myself to talk normally. Her eyes, that seemed perpetually half-lidded, softened. As if she saw my anxiety, she began with a warm voice, "That I am, I would assume you are Princess Tsubaki, of the land called Hana." My eyes widened, "H-how did you know that." I stated, she smiled, "Your clothes give you away, it has been a long time since I have been to that land, tell me. Are the flowers still there?" she inquired, my eyes became wistful. "They are as fragrant and as colorful as ever, the variety only increases," her smile stayed. "Good, but as with every service given, there must be a price," My eyebrows creased in thought, "But I have nothing, nothing but the clothes on my back." She gave me a look, a look that could almost pierce my soul. "But you have something, what about your necklace, it was what your mother gave you, wasn't it?" My hand flew to my throat, and my eyes widened, tears threatening to fall. "Please I will give you anything but that," I then looked to my wrist, "What about this?" I showed her the bracelet, "this is the bracelet that holds the royal crest, and with it, my title, the second I take it off, I am nothing more than a commoner." She had a pensive look in her eyes, "Very well, but with this payment also comes a contract, since you will be living in this world you must become a student in school, because you are still the age in which children have to go." My face dropped, "But I have already finished my studies-," "In your world," she interjected. "But in this world, it is highly unlikely that you have finished your studies, unless by some miracle, you were some child savant." My head dropped, "So be it," I started, "If I am to survive in your world, then I must gain some insight as to how this world operates." She moved her hand out in front of her, motioning me towards her house, "Since you'll be staying here for a bit, you must call me by something, my name is Yuko." All of the sudden I felt something small jump towards my stomach, I looked down to see a small black creature, with long bunny ears and little hands and feet, on one of its ears was a little ear clamp and in the center of its forehead was a blue gem. "And my name is Mokona Modoki!" I smiled at how cute it was, and then placed it in my hand, "Nice to meet you Mokona," I said to him, and then shook its hand.

I took my shoes off and left them there outside. Once inside the house, I saw how close it was to my world in the decorations, but of course it had its subtle differences. Yuko then led me to a room, once opened; I saw that it was a small bed room. It had a closet, a mirror, and a small dresser in the closet, on top of the dresser, was a shelf that had a bed that was folded up. "This is where you will be staying until you can find a place of your own, nothing special, but a roof over your head." I looked back to her, and bowed down, "No," I started, "this is special, you have done so much for me already, but I do have one question." Yuko nodded her head, acknowledging me to go forth, I then said "How am I to gather the resources to get another place?" Yuko gave me a look, then started, "In this world, common people must go out and go to shops that offer services of kinds, and apply to work there, sometimes they may hire you off the bat, but other times you may have to wait a while for them to reply back, if they reply back, it's called sending out applications, and that is what you will have to do first in order to get some kind of monetary gain here." My eyes widened at that knowledge that was kind of overwhelming me, "You must have done some work at the palace, Tsubaki?" I nodded, "Some chores, but I mostly helped the palace chef's cook sometimes." I noticed that Yuko's eyes widened and got a sort of gleam in them, "So, you know how to cook?" she started, "Yes," I replied, "Do you want me to make something for lunch?" I asked, she then jumped on me, and proceeded to hug me, "Oh that would be so wonderful!" Yuko then grabbed my hand and drug me to where ever I guess the kitchen was.

Once there she then pointed me toward the cabinets where the china, utensils, spices, etc. where. Then I took a look at her fridge, my eyes widened at how much alcohol was in there, surely this woman wasn't consuming this much alcohol! Behind it all was a small amount of food that left much to be desired, "So," I began airily, "What kind of food would you like?" She began to think for a bit, placing one of her hands to her face and looking up in thought. "How about something sweet, that goes with a bit of dry wine, does anything come to mind?" I thought for a bit, and then I thought of a cake we have back on Hana, "How about Green Tea Kasutera?" Yuko smiled and then said, "That would be great, but you'll probably have to go out and get some supplies," My eyebrows creased, "Should I really go out in this," I said, pointing to my clothes. Yuko waved me off, and said, "Nah, you are just fine, you just look very proper, and besides, all people will think is that is a very beautiful kimono," I smiled at her, "Thank you, Yuko."

Before I went to get the supplies, I made a list of what I had to get, since this world was very similar to mine, I kept it relatively the same. I checked off the ingredients we already had, which wasn't many. I then went to my room for a bit, and made sure I was presentable; I fixed my long brown hair back into a knot with my hair ornament, and came out to the main foyer. I saw that Yuko was already there, with a bag and Mokona. "Here is a shopping bag and Mokona here will show you the way to the convenience store," she then pulled out her wallet and opened it, pulling out a few slips of paper, "This is the money that we use in this world, you will use it to pay for the supplies, once you are done, you bring me back the change and what is left of the money, understand?" I nodded and smiled, and then put the money in the bag. I then saw that my shoes were at the bottom of the step before the door, I was a little shocked, and knew that I left them at the back door. I put them on and walked toward the door, I then made sure I had everything; my list, the bag and Mokona, who was already in the bag, "Ready to go, Mokona?" I asked while smiling at him, "He then popped up from the bag and hung on to the side of the bag that was as if he was walking next to me, "Full speed ahead captain!" he said and we were off.

Once past the gates, I saw how different this world really was to mine, in the streets were these metal things with people inside them, and the buildings were huge compared to Yuko's house. I looked back to her house, and saw that it was nestled between two huge buildings. I was a little overwhelmed, but thankfully Mokona nudged me, pulling me out of my thoughts, "We have to go this way!" He said, pointing with his hand, I nodded and smiled at the cute little…what ever he was. We walked for a bit, and before we got to the end of the sidewalk, Mokona told me to wait at the end of it, he told me that the sign across from us, with the red hand, told us to wait and not cross the street. But once the man that walked on the box appeared, we could cross the street! How strange is that, but he also told me that if we wait in the street to long and the red hand appears, the metal things that held people in it, could go and we could get squished.

Now that we have passed a few cross walks, Mokona told me what they were, we were at the door to the convenience store. I didn't see any door knobs, but Mokona told me to just walk onto the black mat in front of the door. Once I did, the door slid open, as if by some magical force! I jumped back a bit, but Mokona said for me to walk into the store, and that it would be alright. I found out that it was some sort of mechanism that made the door slide like that, no ghosts. And that the inside was colder than outside, which felt nice because my kimono's many layers didn't let any breeze touch my skin. Mokona then handed me the list that I made up, and we proceeded to find the items on it. About half way through the list, I couldn't find the rice starch, which held everything together in my recipe; I looked high and low, nothing. All of the sudden I heard a voice to my left, I looked over to see a young man, my age, black hair and light blue eyes covered by glasses. "Do you need any help?" he asked, my look became sheepish, and a blush graced my cheeks, "Um, just a bit, there is this thing I can't seem to find anywhere." He smiled and then asked, "What might it be?" I looked at my list to see if I was looking at it right, "A box of rice starch." He nodded and then motioned to the way he was heading, "It's over here."

We then walked over a few isles, and there it was, plain as day. I sighed exasperatedly, and placed my hand to my forehead, "I take it that you haven't been to this convenience store much?" the man asked. I looked up at him; "Actually," I began, and then felt a nudge in my side through the bag. I knew it was Mokona probably trying to warn me. "This is my first day in town, I just moved here from out of the country." His eyes widened, "Oh, where from?" I then started to sweat, the only place I knew was here and Hana, I then looked to my hands, which held the rice starch, on the front of it, it said **Made in China**. "U-um, I'm from C-china." I stuttered, hoping he wouldn't notice, thankfully he didn't. "That's cool," he said, and left it at that, "Do you need any more help?" he asked, I looked to my list, what was left, it was just a few things, "If it's not too much trouble, could you?" I asked, he smiled at me, "Sure," he then held out his hand, "Could you hand me the list?" I handed it over, and we walked through the store, "So what's your name?" I smiled, "Tsubaki, what is yours?" he replied, "Kimihiro Watanuki."

Now that he had helped me, we were finished before we thought we were going to be. After we paid for everything, we walked outside, "Well," Kimihiro said, "I guess I won't see you again," my face dropped, "Why is that?" I asked, "I dunno, this just seemed too good to be true. You're beautiful and nice, something's gotta be up." My eyebrow raised, "No, nothing's up," I was a little confused at his statement, "If you don't trust me, here," I then took out my hair ornament that was holding my hair up, and put it into his hands "If we are to meet again, you'll give me that back, if we don't, you get to keep that as a memento, call it serendipity, whatever will happen, will happen. But I have a feeling we'll meet again." And with that, I left.

Kimihiro's POV

When she placed her hair ornament in my hand and left, I felt as if I had seen an angel. After Himawari got asked out, and accepted, I thought my life was over, but I think I just may have found hope. I just really hope she's right about that serendi-whatsit. She was still within sight, and I saw how the hot sun made her brown hair shine a warm honey color. Her hazel eyes still pierced me even in memory. "GAH!" I gasped; the people around me looked to see if I was alright. But I gained composure, alas, here I am. Obsessing over a girl I barely even know, what am I, some sort of freak! I need to be calm, cool…crap.

Tsubaki's POV

When I got back to Yuko's house, Mokona popped out of the bag, stretched and gave a mighty yawn. "Did you sleep that entire time in the store?" Mokona turned to me, "Not the whole time," he said, "just a little after we got outside, the heat makes me sleepy," I smiled at him, then went to the kitchen to put everything away, I then went to give Yuko her change, and told her that I'd be done with the sweets in a little while.

She ended coming into the kitchen to keep an eye on me and to talk for a bit, I told her about my studies in my world, how I learned magic, and how the royal family was before the invasion. While she and I talked, I made the cream for the center of the cakes with my magic. I gathered all the ingredients into the bowl and whipped them with a little air magic. Yuko watched with interest, I then spoke, "You know, the only way to get that light fluffy texture is to mix it with air." With that I did a little flourish with my hands and then the cream floated into the air and back into the bowl. After I created the cakes that were shaped like little flowers, I filled them with the cream, and covered them with the top so the cream would stay in, I baked them for thirty minutes, placed them on a serving plate in front of Yuko and Mokona, "What type of wine did you want," I said as I opened the fridge, "Could you pull out the Shiraz?" I did then pulled the cork and poured it into two wine glasses. Within seconds, they drained their glasses, and started in on the cakes. I saw Yuko's eyes roll into the back of her head, for a second I thought it was a bad reaction, until I heard a moan of delight come from her. "My goodness, It practically melts in your mouth! And it's perfectly sweet." I looked to Mokona only to see him buried face first in a cake, he pulled away with the cream surrounding his mouth; "This is scrumptious!" he exclaimed. After I had a few cakes, I then cleaned everything up, and made some tea. I then put a cup down for Yuko and Mokona; I drank mine and told them that I was going to bed. "Good night," they both slurred, for they had too much wine, and I excused myself.

When I got to my room, I pulled down my bed from the closet and set everything up. After that was all done, I pulled off all but my yukata; I folded it all up, and set it in the closet. I tucked myself in, as I laid down, the day caught up with me. I was alone, no more family, no more hugs from mom that make it all better, no more wise words from the high priest. I began to cry, all I wanted then was my mom, even if we were commoners, I didn't care, mom makes everything better, I ended up crying myself to sleep.

* * *

My first CLAMP story, I thought it was good, but you tell me, Reviews warm my frozen feet! Seriously, their blue from the cold.


	2. About a Boy and a Girl

I awoke to see Mokona on top of my blanket, "You were crying." He said, I just hugged him, I guess he knew what I was feeling, because he said nothing, and hugged me back. When I calmed down, I walked with Mokona in hand to the kitchen, only to see Yuko, sprawled over the table. "Uuuuugh, why do I do this to myself…" She then noticed that I was in the room, "Oh, Tsubaki, could you make me some coffee?" Thankfully I had Mokona to help me, because Yuko was down for the count. I soon set a steaming mug of coffee down in front of her. It seemed like the second she was done, she was back on track, and back to business, "You remember when I said that that you had to go to school?" I nodded in reply, "Well," she began, "I signed you up for high school, you will need to go pick up your school uniform from the uniform store, and gather some supplies that you will start off with, they will tell you what you need later," My eyes widened, so much to do… "Alright, is Mokona going with me?" I asked, "No," she stated, "My employee will accompany you, he actually goes to your school, come in!" she sang, I turned my head to face the door, what I saw, made my eyes bug, "Kimihiro!" I exclaimed, he looked at me, and then his eyes bugged! Then he fainted.

Kimihiro's POV

Oh, my head…my eyes fluttered open, my sight was still blurry, my glasses must have fallen off. "Here," said a soft, but familiar voice. I put my glasses on, above me was Yuko, Mokona, and…Tsubaki! "Are you alright," She said, my mouth went dry, "Y-yeah, what are you doing here!" Mokona then said, "Uh-oh." "Waddya mean uh-oh?" I exclaimed, Tsubaki grabbed Mokona, "Oh he doesn't mean anything, right Mokona?" I saw that Mokona paused, "Suuuuure!" he sputtered. All of the sudden, Tsubaki asked, "You ready to go shopping, Kimihiro?" "Yes," I replied, "Good," she began, "Because I just need a minute to get on my kimono." To my embarrassment, I didn't realize she was still in her nightgown, and I blushed and looked at my feet, "O-oh, geez, I am soo sorry!" I couldn't help but feel a little abashed, "It's not like you saw anything," Tsubaki replied with a small laugh, oh, what a laugh.

While she was putting on her kimono, Yuko came to my side, "Here," she said, holding out her closed hand. I put my hand out, she then placed some money in my hand, "this is for her uniform, school supplies, and some clothes, I will deduct it from your pay check." My jaw dropped, "Oh come on! Will I ever get paid a full pay-che-," Yuko placed her finger to my lips to silence me. "Think of it as a date, you're providing for her, so I wouldn't worry about your pay check."

We soon made it to the uniform shop. The clerk came up promptly and asked what high school we were from, I answered that for her. Within moments, the clerk had a few sizes picked out for her, and as well as a few styles of skirt. "Could you help me pick out which would look best, I don't really know the styles here," she asked, as if my day could get any better, she'd probably look good in all three. "Sure," I replied, she smiled and went into the changing room. A few seconds after she got into the changing room, she asked, "Kimihiro, do you still have what I gave you?" I turned around to rummage around in my bag, it took me a bit to find it, but when I did, I picked it up and turned around to see Tsubaki in the school uniform, looking right at me. "Because," she began, "I want you to keep it," she walked toward me, put her hand on mine that was holding the hair ornament, and closed my hand around it, "think of it as a friendship bracelet, in my country, we only give dear friends these tokens of affection." When she said this, I about lost it, she considers me a friend! She went back into the changing room, and soon she came out with the short skirt on, I could see the discomfort in her eyes, "Do the women in your country like to show this much leg all the time?" she asked, periodically tugging on the skirt hem, trying to bring it lower, "Well," I said, "Not all the time, but the majority usually do because it's a little cooler in the summer," she instantaneously closed the door, "That decided it," she said from the dressing room a second later, "I am tired of this kimono in this heat! If I am to go to school, I at least want to be comfortable." I agreed, and a second later she was out of the changing room, "Umm," she said, with a sheepish look, "Did Yuko happen to give you some money?" She asked, "Yep," I replied, "don't worry about a thing," she let out a long breath, "Good," she said, "for a second there, I was beginning to worry." I put my hand on her shoulder, "Don't you worry about a thing," I declared. "I'll take care of it all," "Thank you," she said with a blush.

After we paid for a winter and spring uniform, we went off to a school supply sore, and picked up a few notebooks and pencils and the like. When we walked out, it was like a gust of fire, the heat was so intense, I was sweating, even in a tee shirt, I looked to Tsubaki, only to see air, I then looked down to see her hunched over, panting. "Tsubaki! Are you alright?" I asked. I heard a groan from her, "What was that," I asked her. She cleared her throat, "No," she said, "I'm about to pass out." She tried to stand up, but started to sway, "Woah," I said and caught her before she fell. "I think you need a change of attire," I said to her, she looked up to me with her golden green eyes. "I think you would be right," she said with a small grin, "Here," I said, "hold onto my arm while we're walking." She did as I said and we were off to the clothing store.

Tsubaki's POV

The second we walked into the store, I felt like I could breathe again, "Feel better," Kimihiro asked. I looked to him, "Much," I replied, "Do you mind if I do this myself? There's a few things that I need to pick up," I think he caught my drift, because he blushed and said, "S-sure, u-um I'll wait by the dressing room, there's some seats there," I nodded and we went our separate ways. I went over to the female clerk that was closest, "Could you show me where the undergarments are?" I asked, she smiled at me and led me to a rack of the strangest stuff. "If you need any help, feel free to ask me," said the clerk, but before she could leave, I caught her, "I don't know how to say this in any other way, but I need help picking out my size," she gave me a look, "I know it sounds odd, but I am being totally serious."

"Alrighty, but I'll need to measure you," she said

"Sure,"

"You'll need to take your kimono off," she said

"Sure,"

"I need you to take your yukata off," she said

"What."

"It's so you'll have a better fit," she stated, "you will keep your underwear on as well," she said. I nodded warily, but went with it, what else could I do. So while she measured me, I tried to think of other things than the cold measuring tape pressing on my overly warm skin. Before I could even think, it was done, "I'll pick some things out for you to try on, what colors would you like?" I thought for a moment, "Um, could you tell me my size instead, I would like to look around instead." She nodded with a smile and left me to get my yukata on, why put on the rest of it when I'll take it off for the other stuff.

I ended up picking up a plain black and white pair, but the emerald green one caught my eye, so I had to get it. And I picked up a pack of underwear that was in the sizes that she told me I was. After that ordeal was done, I then looked through the onslaught of racks of clothes. I decided to stick to the dresses, there was this one particular style that I really liked called a sun dress. It was always made with a light fabric and felt so free compared to the traditional kimono I am always wearing. I checked the prices on all of the tags, and they were so well priced, just a few dollars, nothing over what looked like five. I picked out some that looked good and that would fit me, and went to the changing room.

There, I saw Watanuki lounging on the benches by the changing rooms, the second he saw me he shot up, "Tsubaki! Do you need any help?" I shook my head, "No, I'm all set after I try them on and see if they fit." I tried them all on, liked them all too, but I really liked this white one; it had lace straps, and the same lace encircled me beneath my chest, and flowed down to my knees. After it was done, we ended up buying all of them. The same clerk that helped me, was at the cash register, "Would you like to put any of these on before you leave?" she asked, "You can do that?" I asked, looking at both the lady and Kimihiro, "Sure," she said, "And so you don't have to wear your geta shoes, I'll throw in a free pair of sandals, my treat." I couldn't thank that lady enough, but she just smiled and accepted my excessive gratitude in the most gentle way.

After changing into the white sun dress, and a pair of white flip-flops (correct me if I'm wrong), and of course under-things. I walked out of the dressing room to see Kimihiro sitting on a bench outside the dressing room. He looked up and blushed a deep red and looked away quickly, I thought something was wrong, so I looked around myself and thought that the hem of my dress got caught in my under-things. Thankfully not, so I asked him what was a matter, "N-nothing," and looked away, as if he was embarrassed, "you look very pretty." Now I was the one to blush heavily, "Thank-you, Kimihiro..."I trailed off, my heart was pounding. "Shall we go?" I asked, and as quick as a whip, he was up and taking my bag gently from my grasp. As he grabbed the handle of the paper bag, our hands lightly touched, but from that slight touch, came the feeling of a bolt of lightning passed through my heart, and not in a bad way.

* * *

This puppie is for Ru'a Craine! it's 10:41 PM right now, but i'm on a roll! sorry for the cliffhanger, but i just had to! TTFN!


	3. Of Beginnings

Okay, so I found a discrepancy with the time, so I made it a little more believable, if it isn't I can change it, it's alright

* * *

We soon were out on the busy sidewalk, and the heat had still not let up. I looked to the sky with my hand shading my eyes, only to see not a cloud in the sky. I sighed tiredly, "Will it ever rain?" I asked to myself softly, "Not for a while," responded Kimihiro, "This is always the dry season in Japan." I sighed again, "But don't worry," he said quickly, "This is always when the most festivals happen!" He stated, I couldn't help but perk up, "What kind of festivals?" I asked, truly curious. His smile got even wider, "Oh tons!" he exclaimed, "Since it's the beginning of August, pretty soon Obon will be happening." I must have looked absolutely confused, because he then explained to me that it was in fact a very important event. "It is the time of year where we honor our ancestors, and those who have died recently, we write their names on special lanterns that can float, and set them to drift on the ocean or in a lake." I smiled at him, "That sounds like a wonderful way to remember those who've passed, may I join you for this occasion?" I asked. Kimihiro blushed deeply and smiled, "I-it would be my honor," he stated, and with a twist in the other direction, he held out his arm for me, "And now, let us head back to the shop." he said with a cheerful smile.

The walk was riddled with talk of school and how this Doumeki man is practically the bane of his existence, "Oh, he can't be too bad, can he?" I ask, oh, THAT set him off, "Of course he's horrible, that idiot is so snide, thinking he's so much better than me, I swear one of these days I'm gonna-," I cut him off by getting right in front of him, "And has he said these things to you?" I counter, cutting him off in the process.

"Well, no, bu-,"

"No buts about it, I am not gonna have my friend work himself into a tizzy, getting angry about possibly nothing!" I huffed, a little angry at his words, but I then thought for a bit, "Where does this Doumeki live?" I asked, Kimihiro gave me a curious look, "Well…at the shrine up the street, but why do yo-,"

"Come on!" I was a woman on a mission; I grabbed his hand, trying to not mind the feeling of electricity coursing through the contact of our hands. I marched my way up two blocks of steeply inclined sidewalk, and turned where Kimihiro told me to. Soon we were at the gates of a memory for me. Looking at the shrine, it made me automatically think of home, and my mother. My throat started to get choked up, and my eyes clouded with tears, I stopped and let go of Kimihiro's hand.

Kimihiro's POV

When Tsubaki suddenly stopped, my brows furrowed in confusion. I then saw her shoulders shudder, she was crying. For what I didn't know, but I had no idea what to do! I tried to think of words to say, that would make her feel alright, but none of the words that I thought of would make anyone feel alright! '_Gah! Kimihiro, do something!' _So I did the only other thing I thought of to give one comfort, took her in my embrace. The second I did, she clung to me as if her life depended on it. I was surprised at the strength of her grip, but still, I held her, it just felt right. No other way to describe it, just right. Then, the words just poured out of me, "I'm here, I'll always be here." I said to her, softly.

Slowly, her sobs subsided, and the tears stopped. She then looked up to me, while still in my arms, and smiled a sad little smile. "Thank you, Kimihiro," she said, I blushed as red as a tomato, but she still had complete composure. I couldn't help myself when I looked deep into those hazel eyes. All of the sudden, she wrapped her arms around my neck, and stood on her tip toes, "She then whispered in my ear, "I don't know what I'd do without you," and pulled away. She wiped her eyes, and then walked around me, I then saw **him**! The jerk that was the bane of my existance, Doumeki… She then walked towards that JERK!

"I take it you're Doumeki?" she asked him, walking towards him; he stopped, and looked at her, as if sizing her up. "Yes, who's asking?" he said in his higher-than-thou tone of voice, "No one special, can I speak with you for a second?" she asked. He then looked to me, almost as if asking my permission, and then nodded to her. They walked away, and I was left confused and alone.

Tsubaki's POV

When we were a distance away from Kimihiro, we stopped, I then examined his reaction, "What is it that you want?" he asked, not so much asked as declared. "Not much," I replied, "just a little insight," and then looked deep into his eyes, the window to the soul. His body froze as my mind peered into his. But I saw what I needed to see straight off the bat, "You want to help save him," I said softly, his muscles released, "What did you do," he spat.

"I did nothing, merely peered into your heart," Said I.

"My heart?" he questioned further,

"Nothing was disturbed, I just wanted to confirm something," I stated, he looked at me, with brows furrowed, "What did you confirm that words couldn't convey?" I smiled a soft smile toward him, his eyes widened, "That you're not as you seem, on the outside, you seem indifferent to others, but I see what's really happening. You are trying to protect Kimihiro." His brows furrow in confusion, "Protect, I couldn't care less about that idiot," I smile like I know something he doesn't, which I do, "It may not be what you are trying to do so much as what you are doing regardless, one way or another, you two are tied together, and that fate is helping you two to protect each other." He stopped after that, didn't even respond, "I know I'll be seeing you later Doumeki, and please try not to get him so riled up, he's so hard to talk to when he's like that." I said with a laughing smile, he gave a small smile, and nodded, "I guess I'll try if you want it that bad," he said dryly, I laughed at his comment, "That's all I ask for, Doumeki."

We both went back to where Kimihiro was, only to see him sitting on the steps of the shrine, looking bored, and staring at the ground absently. I gently placed my hand on his shoulder, which slowly awoke him from his reverie, "You ready to go?" he asked softly, I nodded and smiled softly, then turned to Doumeki, "I hope we'll see each other later," I said to him, "Hn," he grunted with a nod. Kimihiro was about to get all bent out of shape when I simply grabbed his hand, and pulled him away, "Later Doumeki!" I exclaimed as we walked away. As soon as we were past the shrine gates and onto the side walk, Kimihiro decided to speak, "What was that all about?" he asked, my eyes kept forward, "Nothing, just ironing out a few things," I stated in a most flippant tone.

A few days later we were back at Yuko's and sipping on some iced tea that Kimihiro made, "This is so good!" I exclaimed to Kimihiro, who sat down next to me to enjoy his glass of tea as well. "Have you never had iced tea, Tsubaki?" he asked, I shook my head, "No, this is the first time," he gave a big goofy grin, something I found so endearing and contagious; I couldn't help but smile too. We enjoyed the tea in the back yard, sitting on the wraparound porch. The sun was setting behind the buildings surrounding the shop, so the last rays of sun were above us, slashing through the pinkish red of the evening sky, truly a beautiful sight. Soon the sun was down and the fireflies were out, lazily floating around. Kimihiro looked at his left wrist, which had some sort of leather band with a circular center on it, "Oh CRAP!" he exclaimed, while quickly getting up. I looked at him in utter confusion, my eyebrow raised for extra effect, he then turned to me. Gauging my reaction, he then said, "I forgot to start dinner and it's almost seven o'clock," while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, "Is that all?" I said in an almost condescending tone, "I thought you forgot something important," I teased. Kimihiro blushed with wide eyes, and then stammered, "Dinner cannot be started so late, if you eat too late, you won't have enough time to burn it off some before going to bed-," after this I kind of drowned him out, and just started to look at him. It was cute how passionate he was about the culinary arts. He was a fantastic cook any way you put it.

"Are you listening to me?" He interjects, I blush, "Uh… hehe?" I abashedly reply, he sighs, "Come on, let's get started." He then holds out his hand to me to help me up, I couldn't help but blush harder, thank the heavens above that I didn't fall like some idiot!

As we got inside and started pulling out all of the necessary ingredients for what concoction Kimihiro was going to make, I couldn't help but notice his finesse with it all. For example, chopping up some of the vegetables, he would go so fast and make it seem so effortless, I was almost a little jealous. And much to my chagrin, he would have to stop or give directions repeatedly as so to help me, it was almost kind of sad on my part. Even more to my embarrassment, I was cutting more stuff up watching him move about the kitchen, and my knife slipped, "Ah!" I exclaimed out of pain and shock. Kimihiro hurriedly rushed to me with a paper towel in hand, and wrapped my afflicted appendage with it. "Are you okay?" he quickly said out of worry, I looked up, and it was like my mind went blank when I looked into his eyes.

Kimihiro's P.O.V

I heard Tsubaki yelp and turned to see her clutching her hand and acted quickly with a paper towel. But when she looked to me as I wrapped her finger in the paper towel, I just stopped. Breathing, moving, everything. I saw her blush blossom from her cheeks down her neck, I saw her beautiful eyes widen, her plump lips slightly apart. I couldn't help myself when I went closer to her, and to my surprise, she did as well. My heart was pounding in my ears, her grip on my other hand was comforting, her tongue darted out to lick those beautiful lips. As our eyes closed and our lips met, her uninjured hand slid up my arm to my bicep, and pulled me gently closer.

My first kiss was when I was seven and the girl just did it out of a dare, not something memorable really. This kiss, on the other hand, was everything one could ever hope for. But before I could go a bit farther, she pulled away, I thought she was going to say something, but all she did was place her uninjured hand too my cheek, and smile. I held that hand to my face and leaned into it. I felt immense comfort when I was with her, I could be myself, and I know that she wouldn't judge me or call me a freak. "Kimihiro?" I opened my eyes to look into hers, I nodded, not trusting myself to talk just yet, "Just hear me out for a bit," I started to worry that she was going to say something bad, but she saw this and placed the tips of her finger to my lips to silence me, "Don't worry, it's nothing bad," I relaxed a bit, "but I want you to know, I've never done this, kissed a man that is, and I don't want things to get weird between us. But I feel something when I'm with you, my heart pounds, I feel like I can do anything and sometimes I feel like some knock-kneed idiot, ." She pauses for a moment, then looks in my eyes, "I'm afraid, so tell me, what are you going to do now?" I place my hand on her cheek, I felt the same fear as her, "If you want, would you like to be my girlfriend?" I know that line was so cliché, but I thought, simplicity was the best thing now, no need for any confusion. But unfortunately, she looked a little confused, "Girlfriend, what's that?"

I then said, "It means that I want to be in a romantic relationship with you, I will be your boyfriend," She blushed and smiled at me, "Yes, I would like that very much." As much as I hate to say it, all good things have to come to an end, because the water for the noodles started to boil over, which effectively pulled us apart. Later on, after a delicious dinner, the whole house sat on the back deck to watch the fireflies some more. Surprisingly, Yuko and Mokona were both rather quiet, but I think it was because they were worn down from their previous drinking game antics. Maru and Moro were catching fireflies in jars, while Tsubaki and I just sat in the comfort of each other, my arm around her shoulders while she leaned against my shoulder with her hand draped across my chest. Both of us were testing each other's limit with touch, because both of us have never been in a relationship before. I was absolutely okay with that, because she was with me.

Tsubaki's POV

I don't think I've ever felt this way, it was a bit strange for me, especially since it happened so fast, but I think I need it now. A personal connection. I know Kimihiro sees a lot more than usual people, as do I, and I think that's what pulls us together, the similarity. It feels, nice. Inside and out, I can't help but smile.

* * *

Okay, already had to edit, I think I need to go back and re-read this whole damn thing instead of skim. Shame on me, if anybody sees anything else wrong, tell me, it's okay, just as long as you say it nicely!


End file.
